ASU tech programs could reap Chandler millions

Officials say tax bite at least $2.9 million

Bringing Arizona State University technology programs to downtown Chandler will cost taxpayers at least $2.9 million, but officials say the city will reap many times that in economic benefits.

The City Council will vote Thursday on an agreement with ASU that leases a former municipal public works building at 249 E. Chicago St. for $1 a year and requires the city to pay for improvements that include demolition and rebuilding the interior into classrooms, labs, offices and collaborative space.

It will house engineering and technology learning studios, innovation labs and provide access to the university's online courses. According to a city memo, the inefficient heating and air-conditioning system must be replaced, and a crumbling parking lot with poor drainage must be rebuilt. Exact cost of the work won't be determined until construction drawings are finished and the project put out to bid. Then the contract and cost must be approved by the City Council in a public vote.

Chandler had originally sought to turn the mostly vacant 33,000-square-foot public works warehouse into an art venue, but the city received only one proposal that was not selected. At the time, Economic Development Director Christine Mackay was working with ASU Polytechnic and asked university officials to tour the building. After the tour "it became evident that the building was ideal for their uses for the ASU College of Technology and Innovation," according to the memo.

ASU will pay an estimated $1 million to $1.5 million to equip the facility, and its faculty and staff will run the programs. Money for the city's portion comes from a municipal vehicle replacement fund that accumulated savings since budget officials scaled back purchases of new cars and trucks and reduced vehicle usage during the recession. The financial arrangement is similar to what the university is doing in downtown Phoenix and in Lake Havasu City, where the municipality or another entity provides the facilities.

When it opens in August the downtown Chandler ASU programs will have about 100 students. That number is expected to grow to 1,000 by 2015. ASU also plans to launch a part-time engineering program on nights and weekends at the facility this fall, something the university now does not offer.

During his State of the City address earlier this month, Mayor Jay Tibshraeny said a heavier university presence downtown will bring customers to local shops and restaurants and provide an educated workforce for Chandler's growing technology firms. A consultant has said the ASU presence will have an estimated $23 million impact on the city in the form of student, faculty and college.

The ASU announcement came days after the University of Arizona made public a partnership with the city to offer science- and technology-based programs beginning in May at the Chandler Community Center. The two buildings are within walking distance from each other and from City Hall. Last year ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business announced it will open an evening MBA program at the southeastern corner of Chandler Boulevard and Loop 101. The school will be part of a future executive office park developed by the Rockefeller Group.